AUTO RESEARCH WORK

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18140, 1 August 1924, Page 5

AUTO RESEARCH WORK

SUPPORT BY U.S.A. Believing that the research work of the automotive section of the United States Bureau of Standards is of a greater value to tho automobile owners of the country in' proportion to the amount of Federal money expended than any other activity of tho Government in behalf of motorists, the American Automobile Association is urging Congress to increase the appropriations for 1924 from 15,000 dollars allotted to the budget to 50,000 dollars, the minittniTn amount estimated as required to carry on the -work on a scale equal to that'of the last year. The automotive section, in tho study made for the Motor Transport Corps_ on behaviour of brake lining materials alone, made possiblo the saving ot 10,000,000 dollars annually for tho motorists of' tho country. The annual break lining bill formeny was 30,000,000 dollars. The expenditure of the automotive section was approximately 125,000 dollars annually. Unfortunately a large part c the work for the Government Departments has been completed so that the

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support for the laboratories from other Governmental sources is reduced. A project recently undertaken and for which limited support is available is the development of methods for testing the braking ability of automobiles. This is recognised as a vital clement in highway transportation gfiferv. Apparatus and test methods already devised and demonstrated _ to many "state and municipal authorities have shown the practicability of siniph? and effective tests of brake equipment which arc satisfactory to authorities and car users. Another project of importance is an investigation to determine the most economical gTade of motor fuel. The results of this research, while not yet completed, indicate that the total supply of motor fuel can be increased somo ZO per ceut. without sacrifice in the mileage. This project promises economic saving to the public of many millions of dollars in addition to fuel taring to the Government itself.